Chapter 10
Ethan looked from Hale to the two men behind him.
He was outnumbered. Outgunned.
But he wasn't afraid.
He had already been to hell and back. What more could they do to him?
“Richard,” Ethan said. “I see you're comfortable in my home.”
Hale stepped into the study. The two men followed. Margaret moved to stand beside him.
“Your home?” Hale shook his head. “Possession is nine-tenths of the law, Ethan. And I've been in possession for quite some time now.”
He looked at Margaret.
“Though I'm surprised you didn't tell me our guest had arrived. I would have prepared a warmer welcome.”
Margaret's voice was cold.
“I was handling it.”
“Clearly not well enough.” Hale turned back to Ethan. “You've caused us quite a bit of trouble, you know. Coming back from the dead like this. It complicates things.”
“Complicates your plans to steal my company, you mean.”
“Steal is such an ugly word.” Hale walked around the desk, picking up one of the documents Ethan had thrown down. “I prefer to think of it as a merger. A joining of forces. Your company was always too small for your ambitions, Ethan. With my resources and your name, we could have built something great.”
“Could have?”
Hale smiled again.
“Well, that was before you decided to be difficult. Before you started digging into things that don't concern you.”
“Bid-rigging concerns me. Money laundering concerns me. Trying to kill me concerns me.”
Hale's expression didn't change.
“The plane crash was unfortunate. But necessary. You were becoming a problem, Ethan. You had information that could have destroyed everything I've built. I couldn't allow that.”
“So you blew up my plane.”
“A simple device. Hidden in the cargo hold. It was supposed to look like engine failure. And for a while, it worked. Everyone believed you were dead. Your mother played her part perfectly. The grieving widow... I'm sorry, mother. Taking control of the company. Throwing your wife out on the street. It was all going so well.”
Ethan looked at his mother.
“Did you know?” he asked. “Did you know he was going to blow up the plane?”
Margaret looked away.
“I knew he was going to... handle the situation.”
“Handle the situation.” Ethan laughed. It was a bitter sound. “My own mother knew someone was going to murder me, and she did nothing.”
“You were never grateful for anything I did for you!” Margaret's voice rose. “I gave you life. I raised you. And what did I get? You married that baker girl. You built a company and kept me out of it. You forgot who I was!”
“I never forgot who you were. I just didn't realize you were capable of this.”
Hale interrupted.
“As touching as this family reunion is, we have more pressing matters. Ethan, I'm going to give you a choice. You can sign over your shares in the company to me. You can sign documents stating that you faked your own death for insurance money. And then you can disappear. Go back to Charleston. Be with your wife and your... what was it? Triplets? You can live a quiet life. I'll even send you money every month. Enough to get by.”
“And the other option?” Ethan asked.
Hale's smile vanished.
“The other option is that these two men take you somewhere quiet. Somewhere no one will ever find you. And this time, you'll stay dead. Your wife and children? Well, accidents happen. Especially to people who ask too many questions.”
Ethan looked at the two men. They stood like statues, waiting for Hale's order.
He thought about Claire. About his three sons. About the life they were supposed to have together.
He couldn't die here.
Not now.
Not when he had just found his way back.
But he also couldn't sign over everything. Couldn't let these monsters win.
Ethan's mind raced.
He needed a way out.
And then he heard it.
Voices from the hallway.
Robert's voice.
And another voice.
Chief of Police.
“Robert, what is the meaning of this?” the chief was saying. “You said there was an emergency.”
“There is,” Robert said. “Inside the study. Right now.”
Hale's eyes narrowed.
Margaret's face went pale.
The two men tensed.
Ethan moved.
He didn't think. He just acted.
He grabbed the heavy brass poker from the fireplace and swung it at the nearest man. It connected with his shoulder. The man grunted and stumbled back.
The second man lunged.
Ethan ducked. The man's fist sailed over his head.
The door burst open.
Robert stood in the doorway. Behind him stood the chief of police and two uniformed officers.
They stared at the scene.
Hale. Margaret. Two big men. And Ethan, standing in the middle of the room, holding a fireplace poker.
“What is going on here?” the chief demanded.
Hale recovered first.
“Chief, thank goodness you're here. This man broke into the house. He's claiming to be Ethan Parker. He's clearly deranged. He attacked my associates.”
The chief looked at Ethan.
Ethan lowered the poker.
“I am Ethan Parker. And these two men were about to kidnap me. On Richard Hale's orders. With my mother's blessing.”
The chief looked from Ethan to Hale to Margaret.
“Margaret?” he said. “Is this true? Is this... Ethan?”
Margaret's eyes darted. She was trapped.
If she said yes, Hale's story fell apart.
If she said no, and it was later proven to be Ethan, she would look like a liar. Or worse.
She chose the only option she had.
She burst into tears.
“Oh, my baby,” she sobbed, rushing toward Ethan. “You're alive. You're really alive.”
She tried to hug him.
Ethan stepped back.
“Don't touch me.”
Margaret's sobs continued, but her eyes were cold when she looked at him over his shoulder.
The chief looked confused.
“Everyone says you're dead,” he said to Ethan.
“I was. Sort of. Seven months in a coma. Unidentified. But I'm alive now. And I have quite a story to tell you. About a plane crash that wasn't an accident. About a conspiracy to steal my company. About attempted murder.”
Hale's face was like stone.
“This is ridiculous. This man is clearly—”
“Shut up, Richard,” the chief said. He looked at Ethan. “If you're really Ethan Parker, then you know things only Ethan would know.”
“Ask me anything.”
The chief did.
He asked about Ethan's father. About the year Ethan had started the company. About the name of Ethan's first dog. About the charity Ethan had founded in his sister's name when Vanessa was sick as a child.
Ethan answered every question correctly.
The chief's face grew grim.
May you like
He looked at Hale.
“Mr. Hale, I think you and your associates need to come down to the station with us. And you too, Mrs. Parker. We have a lot to talk about.”
